Thursday, June 26, 2008

It looks like we have a shot to get the dread Section 120 out of Bill C-10. That's the section that would allow the Minister of Heritage to retroactively yank government funding from an already-made picture by deciding it is "contrary to public policy." It's a dumb idea because it would destroy the business model of the Canadian feature film industry. We could live with a censorship board if we had to; we can't live with retroactive censorship.

There is a movement afoot to define "contrary to public policy" as "illegal under the Criminal Code of Canada." In other words, the taxpayer shouldn't be funding hate films or pornography. I think we can all agree on that, especially as no such film has ever actually been funded by the taxpayer.

If you care about the future of the Canadian film industry, please harass the following parliamentarians:

I am one of the writers of the smash-hit Canadian comedy movie BON COP BAD COP. I'm writing in opposition of Section 120 of Bill C-10.

The proposed section would create a form of backwards censorship that would cripple the Canadian film industry's basic business model. I take it personally, because it would throw me, personally, out of work.

There is a simple solution. Rather than allowing the Minister of Heritage to define "contrary to public policy" on a whim, define it as any unlawful content according to the Canadian Criminal Code.

No one wants to see illegal films funded by the Canadian taxpayer; but no illegal films have been funded by the taxpayer. On the other hand I hope even the most socially conservative politicians will recognize that throwing an entire industry out of work is bad business and bad politics.